ASUS ROG Phone review

Asus has been knocking it out of the park with their Republic Of Gamers line of PCs, monitors, and more. It’s quickly becoming the number one choice for most gamers, especially those in the competitive scene.

With the rising popularity of mobile gaming, Asus looked to innovate the way we play games on our phones, and lo and behold, the ROG phone is here. A first for the company, they’ve packed in more than enough features to turn any serial mobile gamer into a pro.

Starting with the design, you can see Asus’ patented ROG signatures packages on this phone. The back of the phone is etched with a unique and futuristic design, capped off with the ROG logo that can be lit up and changed to different colours. Next to the screen, you’ll see the vent vapor chamber, an efficient way to let off some steam and avoid the phone from overheating. The holding screen on the front and back of the phone is made with Corning Gorilla Glass 6, overall making the phone not only stylish, but incredibly sturdy as well.

Packing in a 6-inch AMOLED screen with 2K resolution and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, any game you play on this will definitely look real good, almost console quality-like. Since not all games can support to a 90 Hz refresh rate, you can always switch it down to a 60 Hz rate. The response time for the phone is also at 1 millisecond, making it perfect for fast inputs for games like PUBG or Arena of Valor.

Going into the internals of the phone, this phone packs the best processing yet in a smartphone, with it going up to 2.96 Ghz. This is also backed up by an 8 GB RAM and up to 512 GB storage, depending on the version you pick. While it definitely has great video quality, Asus was sure to pack in some powerful audio as well. There are 2 front facing stereo speakers, with a 7.1 channel surround sound. This makes it perfect for gaming as well as watching Netflix or YouTube.

One really good addition that comes packed in the phone is the AeroActive Cooler. It’s an external attachment to the phone, able to attach to the sides of the phone while in landscape mode. This acts as an extra cooling fan for the phone, effectively negating any overheating you might normally experience while gaming on most smartphones, keeping your gaming sessions nice and breezy.

Now for the main event - gaming on the ROG phone. With the specs this phone is packing, you can easily play every game the Google Play Store has to offer. Out of the box, the phone is loaded with Free Fire, Arena of Valor, and Asphalt 9. These 3 games are great ways to show off the power of the ROG phone, as well as some new inputs that is exclusive to the phone. While having the phone on landscape mode, the left and right corners of the phone are actually housing a pair of Air Triggers. Just like how the Super Nintendo controllers innovated with the inclusion of the L and R buttons, now you can have proper triggers for your mobile games with the Air Triggers. They work surprisingly well despite not being tactile buttons, they act just as sensitive as the onscreen buttons on your phone.

For a phone as majestic and powerful as it is, there are only three minor gripes with it. One, the audio can be a bit sharp, peaking the treble when you’re on full volume. A good sound might take some adjusting, or maybe just use some headphones. Secondly, the AirTriggers aren’t integrated to every game yet, so you might have to wait a while for some games to update to include the feature. Lastly, the cameras; the front and back cameras leave a lot to be desired. The camera quality is quite average especially compared to its contemporaries there is no autofocus, and it doesn’t work well in low light. While you can record videos at 4K quality on 60 fps, as well as slow motion videos in Full HD and 240 fps, the camera quality is just up to par with average mid range smartphones.

Overall, it really is the ultimate gaming phone out right now. While a few minor issues are present, those who are hardcore mobile gamers will get a lot out of the ROG phone for sure. The phone retails for RM 3499 for the 128 GB model, and RM 3999 for the 512 GB model. Whichever one you choose, you know you’re in for some next level gaming.